1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to accessories to increase vehicle tire traction, and, more particularly, to an apparatus for use with an automotive wheel including a tire to provide additional traction capability for the tire in loose terrain or on icy surfaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle's tires are designed as a compromise to both city driving on hard paved surfaces at high speeds and to country driving on rough, uneven surface roads at slower speeds. As in most compromises, the design provides the performance desired for the mid-range of the expected conditions but fails to provide for the type of performance needed at the extremes of the driving range.
One such extreme of the driving range occurs when the tire must provide traction on icy or snow packed surfaces where the very hardness and smoothness of the ice gives the tire little to no chance to find traction points.
Another such extreme of the driving range is when the tire must provide traction in loose terrain such as sand, mud or gravel surfaces that are commonly found in off-road situations.
The existing prior art has attempted to better the performance of the compromise design currently used with tires by providing aftermarket add-on accessories for use with tires that enable a tire to produce more traction at the driving extremes of icy roads and off-road travel.
One such example of an aftermarket add-on accessory currently in wide use is snow chains. Snow chains, in a most common embodiment, are flexible chains that are linked together to form a ladder-like assembly that is wrapped around the circumference of a tire and connected to form a continuous ring. As the tire turns, the transverse "steps" of the ladder-like snow chains dig into the driving surface and provide additional traction.
Snow chains, however, are difficult to install and are apt to break or release during high speeds, damaging the vehicle and possibly injuring the driver. Also snow chains tend to damage both the tire and the road if they are driven on dry, hard road surfaces.
Thus, the user of the snow chains is forced to install the snow chains, usually at the side of the road when the roadway driving conditions become sufficiently dangerous to require additional traction, and, to remove the snow chains when the road conditions improve, hopefully before damage to the tires or road can occur.
Such installation and removal is usually accomplished in less than ideal conditions and is sometimes dangerous to the individual concerned. Snow chains have somewhat limited use in off-road situations and are generally restricted to snow and ice driving.
The problem with existing prior art aftermarket accessories then, such as snow chains, is that the accessories are usually limited to use in only one of the two extremes noted above, that is, they are useful in either icy conditions or in loose gravel conditions, but not both. Also such devices are difficult to install and are apt to release or break during use, causing damage to the vehicle and possibly injuring the driver. The very flexibility needed to fit these devices to a wheel is quite often the cause of its breaking.
The present invention provides an aftermarket apparatus that solves the problems of the prior art devices as described below.